BOXERS OPEN 2013 WITH PROGRAM'S LONGEST TRIP EVER
Pacific football will open the fourth season of the reinstated program with the longest road trip in team history in either era. The Boxers will cover 2,367 miles to reach Adrian, Mich., for a rare Friday night matchup with Adrian. The season-opener will be a solid season-opening challenge as the Bulldogs won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2012 and advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

BOXER BYTES
• Pacific enters the 2013 season with another huge roster as 140 players reported for the start of preseason camp on Aug. 14. Of those 140, the Boxers return 91 total players and all but one regular positional starter.

• The 2013 season also marks the fourth year since the program's reinstatement in 2010. A total of 37 players from the 2010 squad are on the roster, all looking to end their Pacific careers on a strong note.

• Pacific returns all 11 of their 2012 All-Northwest Conference Football Team selections, led by first team selections Sean Dalton (OL) and Tim Hastie (LB).

• The Boxers will have the luxury of two returning All-NWC quarterbacks. P.J. Minaya was an Honorable Mention All-NWC selection in 2012 after setting records for passing yard, completions and total offense in a game as well as season numbers for pass percentage and passing yards per game. T.C. Campbell, a 2011 Honorable Mention All-NWC selection, returns after missing most of 2012 with a knee injury.

• Pacific also welcomes the return to wide receiver Jordan Fukumoto to the team. A 2011 First Team All-NWC selection, Fukumoto missed all but the first two games of the 2012 season with an injury. He leads a deep receiving corps that finished 27th last year in passing offense.

• Kicker Moses Villareal-Gomez enters his junior season as the Boxers' career record holder in both field goals made (16) and point-after attempts made (45). He was a Second Team All-NWC selection in 2012.

ABOUT THE COACH: Jim Deere enters his fourth season as head coach and his 21st year as a member of the Adrian coaching staff. In 2012, Deere led the Bulldogs to his first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship since 1997. In the process, Adrian amassed a school record 9-2 record, outscored their opponents 147-40 and allowed just four touchdowns. Prior to being elevated to head coach, Deere spent three seasons as Adrian's defensive coordinator. A 1989 graduate of Adrian, Deere spent his first three years out of college as a high school coach before returning to his alma mater.

THE SERIES: This is the first ever meeting between Pacific and Adrian.

ADRIAN NOTES
• Adrian finished the 2012 season ranked in NCAA Division III top-25 in total defense (seventh), scoring defense (10th), pass defense (14th) and rushing defense (25th). As a team, Adrian outscored opponents 147-40 and allowed just four touchdowns (only one through the air).

• Adrian's 2012 MIAA championship was the 11th in school history and their NCAA Division III playoff appearance was just the third in school history (the first since 1988).

• Adrian was picked to repeat in the annual MIAA coaches poll, which was released on Aug. 8. The Bulldogs received four of seven first place votes and finished with nine points in the ranking (first place votes worth one point).

• Adrian returns to the fold a trio of talented defenders, all of whom were First Team All-MIAA selections. Linebacker Deontae Bridgeman led the team with 78 tackles, including 9.5 for loss. Tackle Aaron Gray had 35 tackles, including six for loss, and safety Charles Fleck had 62 tackles and two interceptions.

• Adrian's offense averaged 22.3 points per game and featured a well-balanced attack with 1,559 rushing yards and 1,958 passing yards. A total of 18 of their 30 touchdowns came on the ground. The Bulldogs return top running backs Kyle Smock (567 yards, 9 touchdowns) and Dae'Von Robinson (484 yards, 2 touchdowns). Drew Collins, a transfer from Hillsdale, will assume quarterback duties in 2013.

• Adrian College is located in Adrian, Mich., approximately 45 minutes from Toledo, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Mich. Founded in 1859 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Adrian sponsors 26 varsity programs, including three men's hockey teams (one affiliated with NCAA Division III, two with the American Collegiate Hockey Association), women's equestrian and women's synchroized skating.

PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
A BATTLE AT QUARTERBACK: Pacific enters the 2013 season with the luxury of two all-conference quarterbacks, but head coach Keith Buckley hesitates to call it a quarterback battle. P.J. Minaya (Sr., Waipahu, Hawaii) and T.C. Campbell (Jr., Kaimuki, Hawaii) are both listed as potential starters on the Boxers' opening week depth chart. Minaya took charge in 2012 after Campbell was sidelined with a knee injury in the season opener against Simon Fraser, earning Honorable Mention All-NWC honors while setting single season records for completion percentage (64.0) and passing yards per game (250.9). Minaya finished the season ranked second in the NWC in completion percentage, third with 21 touchdowns and fifth with 178 completions and 2.258 passing yards. Campbell was just as potent for the Boxers while earning Honorable Mention All-NWC honors in 2011. He finished fourth in the NWC with an average of 206.4 yards per game and 1,858 passing yards. He too set a single season record with a 59.4 completion percentage (since broken by Minaya).

Buckley said in the 2013 season preview that he believes the presence of two starting caliber quarterbacks will work to Pacific's advantage. "I think I am in the minority, but I think that's the best position to be in," he said. "They both bring such unique things to the field and they are both such good friends. They both have the individual drive to be the guy and they both have their individual goals, but at the end of the day they support the heck out of each other. There's a role for both of them and we are going to utilize both of them."

TALENTED RECEIVING CORPS: Pacific's receiving corps will once again be their most talented and one of their deepest positions. Nearly every player returns from a passing game that ranked 27th in NCAA Division III last year with an average of 286.67 yards per game. Leading that list is Caleb Roher (Jr., Gresham, Ore.), who averaged 54.3 yards per game while scoring five touchdowns on his way to Honorable Mention All-NWC honors. Kelson Kawai (Sr., North Kohala, Hawaii) also earned Honroable Mention All-NWC distinction after averaging a team-leading 14.7 yards per completion while averaging 49.1 yards per game with six touchdowns. Jakob Lawrence (Jr., Sherwood, Ore.) also played a key role, averaging 13.4 yards per completion and 46.2 yards per game.

The passing game will be greatly enhanced, though by the return of dynamic receiver Jordan Fukumoto (Jr., Mililani, Hawaii). The Boxers' 2011 First Team All-NWC selection was sidelined after two games thanks to injury. Despite not playing in seven games, Fukumoto still managed to finish sixth for the Boxers with 163 passing yards. In 2011, Fukumoto led Pacific and finished second in the NWC with 844 receiving yards, 3.8 yards per game and 16.9 yards per catch.

GOLDEN BOOT: He is only in his junior season, but Moses Villareal-Gomez (Jr., Stockton, Calif.) enters 2013 with his name already etched in the Pacific career record books. Villareal-Gomez set a career record in point-after kicks when he made one at Willamette last Nov. 3. He enters with 45 PATs made to date. He eclipsed the Pacific record in field goals made when he made a 39-yarder in the season finale at Linfield on Nov. 10. In the same game, he tied the single season record of 10 set in 1988 by Kevin Buckner. Villareal-Gomez also broke the single season record with 28 PAT kicks made, eclipsing the former mark of 25 set by Cub Shulund in 1986.

CONTINUALLY IMPROVING DEFENSE: Pacific hopes that experience will continue to result in an improving offense as Boxer Football enters its fourth season. The Boxers are bolstered by the return of 10 starters, including four All-NWC selections. Tim Hastie (Sr., Auberry, Calif.) will anchor the linebackers after earning First Team All-NWC honors last year. Hastie finished second for the Boxers with 55 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss while his 27 assisted tackles ranked eighth in the NWC. Josh Brinkworth (Jr., Elk Grove, Calif.) was a Second Team All-NWC selection after leading the Boxers and finishing fourth in the NWC with 71 tackles. He also led the league with his 51 solo tackles and three fumble recoveries. Bryan Mills (Sr., Imbler, Ore.) joins Brinkworth once again in the safety slot having earned Honorable Mention All-NWC honors for the second straight year. Mills finished third for the Boxers with 52 tackles. Devin Lagorio (Sr., Stockton, Calif.) also earned Honorable Mention All-NWC honors after finishing with 23 tackles and establishing himself as a big defensive playmaker. The four helped lead a Pacific defense in 2012 that ranked 29th among Division III teams in rushing defense, allowing teams 104.11 yards per game.

LONGEST ROAD TRIP: When Pacific gets on the airplane for their flight to Michigan on Thursday, they will begin the longest road trip in team history. The Boxers will travel 2,367 miles to play in Adrian, Mich., making this the longest trip in program history in either era. Prior to the trip, Pacific had never traveled out of a five-state area on the West Coast, including Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and California, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Prior to this week, Pacific's longest road trip was in 2011 to Claremont, Calif., to play at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, covering a distance of 994 miles.

A PERFORMANCE FOR THE AGES: The scoring performance Pacific put up against Puget Sound on Oct. 6, 2012, was unlike the Boxers had seen for 82 years. The 62 points is tied for the third most points scored in a game in school history. The last time the Boxers had scored 62 points was in 1930 when Pacific beat Lewis & Clark (then known as Albany College) 62-0. The last time the Boxers had scored over 60 points was against Whitman in 1975. Pacific's 62-point performance finished among the top-50 scoring totals in Division III football last season and was the second most scored by a NWC team, bettered only by Whitworth hanging 70 on the Loggers on Oct. 20.

SEASON PREVIEW: The complete 2013 Pacific football season preview can be read online at http://bit.ly/14i8Dv2.

GAMES ONCE AGAIN TO AIR ON KUIK, ONLINE: For the fourth consecutive year, Pacific football fans will have the chance to follow the Boxers both on the air in the Portland and worldwide on their computer or mobile device. KUIK 1360 AM will once again be the on-air home in Washington County, airing all 10 Pacific football contests. The schedule begins with Friday's game at Adrian, which will air at 4 p.m. local time. In addition, all 10 games (home and away) will be available via a free audio webcast that can be accessed at GoBoxers.com. For the fourth consecutive year, all five home games will be made available via a live video webcast. Games can be viewed for $12.95 each or a "season ticket" for all five games is available for $39.95.

Matt Richert returns for his fourth season as the play-by-play voice for Pacific football. A 20-year broadcast veteran, Richert also works as one of the prep play-by-play voices for KUIK. He has also lent his voice to a number of OSAA Radio Network state championship broadcasts and spent the summer as the No. 2 voice for the Hillsboro Hops professional baseball team, working alongside former Pacific men's basketball voice Rich Burk. Scott Hermo will provide the color analysis. Hermo has worked as a color commentator and sports host for KUIK since 1994.

BOXERS PICKED FIFTH IN NWC PRESEASON POLL: Pacific has been picked to repeat their fifth place finish according to the annual Northwest Conference coach's preseason poll released in August. The Boxers received 19 of a possible 42 points, falling at the end of a tightly picked group in the middle of the conference race. Willamette was picked third at 24 points while Whitworth was picked fourth with 20 points, one point ahead of Pacific. Linfield was selected to win their fifth straight NWC title, securing 40 points and five first place votes. Pacific Lutheran was picked second with 34 points and also received two first place votes. View Complete Poll